STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 9 December 2014

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 9 December 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 8 December 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 8 December 2014
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Dow Jones 17,852.48 -106.31 (-0.59%)
S&P 500 2,060.31 -15.06 (-0.73%)
Nasdaq 4,740.69 -40.06 (-0.84%)


[font color=green]10 Year 2.25% -0.05 (-2.17%)
30 Year 2.90% -0.05 (-1.69%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts







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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Crewleader]

1. Christmas carols

[Tansy_Gold]

10. Love the howly-days!

The coyotes in the neighborhood have been quite the nightly choir the past few weeks.

[Fuddnik]

12. About 8:00pm every night, Rosco and my wife have a howling contest.

He has to initiate it. Their own little game.

Then, there's the fire trucks in the distance that set him off too.

[xchrom]

2. GREECE IS CRASHING

http://www.businessinsider.com/snap-election-fears-are-tanking-the-greek-stock-market-2014-12

Stocks are sinking in Athens, down by 10% at 6:23 a.m. EST on Tuesday.

That's the worst fall since 1987, FastFT notes.

The steep decline comes after announcement that Greece's presidential elections are being brought forward to Dec. 17.

The presidential election is conducted by Greece's legislators, not its population. But the government needs a super-majority to install a president, which it doesn't have. If it can't elect a president, that might precipitate a general election and right now the radical Coalition of the Left (Syriza) is leading the polls.

The uncertainty also means sovereign bond yields are breaking out of the region they've been in for the past few days, up from 7.2% to beyond 7.75%. The yield on a 10 year bond is a common measure used to show how expensive it is for governments to finance their debt. Yields saw a recent peak just below 9% in October, when far-left anti-austerity party Syriza took a polling lead, and the government was planning to exit its bailout early.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/snap-election-fears-are-tanking-the-greek-stock-market-2014-12#ixzz3LOxPntMh

[xchrom]

3. Shanghai Stocks Just Went Into A Major Sell-Off

http://www.businessinsider.com/shanghai-stocks-just-went-through-the-floor-with-a-major-sell-off-2014-12

Chinese stocks just saw a colossal sell-off late in trading, sending the Shanghai Composite index from a small increase to a 5.43% crash, the biggest in five years.

Here's how it looked:



That has not done much to dent the meteoric rise of Shanghai's stock market, which is still up by 39.47% since January. But such rapid slumps will most likely be raising a few eyebrows.

Only Monday, Shanghai stocks were being sent through the roof by some abysmal trade numbers. The stock exchange is setting record trading volumes, and it's extremely choppy.

So it's no surprise that Chinese regulators are already warning investors about the sharp rally.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/shanghai-stocks-just-went-through-the-floor-with-a-major-sell-off-2014-12#ixzz3LOy3Y1pK

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/shanghai-stocks-just-went-through-the-floor-with-a-major-sell-off-2014-12#ixzz3LOxoQ3oQ

[xchrom]

4. Oil Crashes To A New 5-Year Low

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-brent-hits-five-year-low-below-66-on-oversupply-worries-2014-12

Benchmark Brent crude slipped to its lowest in five years on Tuesday, dropping below $66 a barrel after plunging more than 4% the day before on worries over a deepening supply glut.

The chief executive of Kuwait's national oil company on Monday said oil prices were likely to remain around $65 a barrel for the next six or seven months, the latest indication that Gulf producers were ready to ride out plunging prices.

Brent has fallen over 40% since June with losses deepening in late November after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided not to cut its output target.

Since then, the top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has reduced its monthly prices for crude it sells to the US and Asia, a move that analysts say shows it is stepping up its battle for market share.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-brent-hits-five-year-low-below-66-on-oversupply-worries-2014-12#ixzz3LOyUMfJl

[xchrom]

5. The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-most-important-things-in-the-world-dec-9-2014-12

1. A World Health Organisation report released Tuesday showed that malaria deaths dropped by 47% worldwide compared with 2000, but it contained a warning that Ebola could worsen in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

2. Hong Kong authorities are preparing to clear the city's main pro-democracy protest next to government headquarters, following a court order requested by a local bus company.

3. NASA's Curiosity rover has found stronger evidence that Mars supported life more than 3 billion years ago after the six-wheeled robot observed sedimentary deposits that suggest Gale Crater once held lakes, streams, and deltas.

4. Brent crude on Tuesday fell to its lowest in five years, slipping below $66 a barrel on fears of oversupply.

5. The human rights group Amnesty International accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes against the people of Gaza during a nearly two-month war this summer.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-most-important-things-in-the-world-dec-9-2014-12#ixzz3LOz38V6U

[xchrom]

6. Australia Wants To Tax Google Too

http://www.businessinsider.com/australia-wants-to-introduce-google-tax-2014-12

Australia looks set to reform corporate tax requirements for companies who declare profits obtained domestically, but declared overseas, after the UK announced plans for a so-called “Google Tax”.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said Australia is “absolutely determined to ensure that companies that earn their profits in Australia pay tax to the Australian government.”

Last week, the BBC reported UK Chancellor George Osborne declared he would be implementing a so-called “Google tax”. He said the levy would deliver around £1 billion over five years to government coffers from multinational organisations.

According to Osborne, a 25% tax is being imposed on “profits generated by multinationals from economic activity in the UK which they then artificially shift” abroad.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/v7-2014-12#ixzz3LOzZRXYK

[xchrom]

7. European Stocks Are Selling Off

http://www.businessinsider.com/market-update-dec-8-2014-2014-12

Here's the scorecard:

France's CAC 40: -0.90%

Germany's DAX: -0.82%

UK's FTSE 100: -1.03%

Spain's IBEX: -1.06%

Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.82%

Asian markets also closed way down. Japan's Nikkei finished 0.68% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 2.34%, and China's Shanghai Composite plummeted, ending down 5.43%.

US futures are also trading low. The Dow is now off 51 points from Monday's close, and the S&P is down 5.75 points.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/market-update-dec-8-2014-2014-12#ixzz3LP42Yxr2

[xchrom]

8. Big Miss For UK Manufacturing As Output Crumbles In October

http://www.businessinsider.com/big-miss-for-uk-manufacturing-as-output-crumbles-in-october-2014-12

UK industrial output dropped 0.1% in October from September, and manufacturing production slumped 0.7% in the same period, according to figures just out.

Analysts had expected a 0.2% increase in industrial production from September, and a similar increase from manufacturing, which would have left industrial and manufacturing output up 1.8% and 3.2% respectively.

Instead, the drop leaves industrial production up just 1.1% year-on-year, and manufacturing up only 1.7%.

This is one of the earliest signs of how the economy is performing in the fourth quarter of the year, and it's not good so far.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/big-miss-for-uk-manufacturing-as-output-crumbles-in-october-2014-12#ixzz3LP4pBV4V

[Crewleader]

9. 10 Reasons I Don’t Have a Credit Card

December 08, 2014
Why Cash is Better by Ralph Nader

At a recent American Antitrust Institute (AAI) symposium in Washington, D.C., I asked the presenters about the ability of cash and checks to compete with the credit card industry and its strict controls on merchants. This obvious point becomes less obvious when one takes into account the expanding exclusion of cash/check payments due to the overwhelming expansion of goods and services that you cannot buy unless you have a credit card or a friend with one whom you can reimburse.

When sending some types of express mail, renting a car, or paying for the services of airlines/trains or hotels, you either cannot pay with cash/check or it is a real hassle of inquiries and conditions. The overall trend is to limit more and more what legal tender can actually buy in America because of exclusionary fine print contracts (see faircontracts.org).

For many people, the convenience of a credit card and potential for rewards justify their preference to forgo cash. Moreover, lower income consumers want a brief extension of credit, however expensive. Credit card carriers are given “points” such as frequent flyer miles, but often the consumer pays in other hidden ways for these “freebies.”

Notwithstanding the above obstacles, I still do not have a credit card or a signature-based debit card. There are ten relevant reasons for my preferring cash or checks over plastic.

1. Plastic lays the groundwork for massive, daily invasions of privacy. Personal purchasing data now floats around the world without controls. The data mining industry is everywhere and both government and hackers can get into peoples’ files. As Facebook and Google demonstrate, it is almost impossible to keep up with the sharing of your personal information.

2. Once you enter the credit economy you fall under the controls of arbitrary credit rating and credit scoring merchants. So if you complain strenuously to an auto dealer or insurance company, if you are a victim of false information in your credit file, or even if you have too many credit cards, your credit can suffer so that you pay more or are denied loans.

3. The credit card economy, with its anti-competitive no-surcharge rules, etc. is inflationary and affects negatively consumer purchasing power as well as lower savings rates.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/08/10-reasons-i-dont-have-a-credit-card/

[DemReadingDU]

11. Cash is good

Especially for small purchases.

While I occasionally still use a credit card, I never use a debit card anymore. If a debit card is stolen, there could be unauthorized purchases resulting in the account wiped out, possibly checks bounced for lack of funds. What a nightmare.

[Crewleader]

13. +1

[Demeter]

14. It's Alive!

I am now part of the Uverse....they made me an offer I couldn't refuse! I have more speed, a router, a battery back-up, all kinds of things to break down or go wrong....

This has been a day to drink into oblivion, I'll tell you. I'd give you a blow by blow account, but then, I'd start crying. Or you would. Did Mercury go retrograde when I wasn't looking?

Tomorrow, I get to see if my car can get fixed. The power windows don't. Thank goddess I don't do papers anymore...

And the Kid is going to school, like it or not, sick or not.

Don't know yet if the power will be restored at work tomorrow....the whole south end of Ann Arbor was powerless (moreso than usual).

As I said, it's been a day....that's lasted a week.

I replaced batteries and reprogrammed remotes, did more mending, cleaned bathrooms (what a treat) and the litter box, all those homely tasks that people go to work to avoid.

[Crewleader]

16. Welcome Back Demeter!

We all are happy you are! woohoo!

[Demeter]

15. Tansy, It looks like the Widget stopped working--they probably did it on purpose

[Demeter]

17. Check these out

http://widgets.freestockcharts.com/gallery.aspx

http://www.barchart.com/market-data-widgets/